Stroke of Genius
by mandyem92
Summary: **WILL BE OFF HIATUS SOON!** Myka and Pete race to find 3 missing girls but soon realize that an artifact isn't the only thing play. With jealousy and love seemingly everywhere they turn, will they be able to figure this one out before they fall victim to the artifact as well?
1. Chapter One

**We read to know we are not alone  
><strong>**-C.S. Lewis**

"Myka!" She heard her name being carried through the hallway from the kitchen of the inn. She lay on her bed on her stomach, Kipling's _The Jungle Book_ staring up at her. She flipped the page, engrossed by the treasures and wonders that Kipling described inside the well. She could feel Mowgli's awe and wonderment at the shining colors off the gems placed on the Ankus. She was lost in her own world, or really Mowgli's. She was there with Bagheera and Baloo, and she was sitting in the circle of the Seeonnee pack. She huffed as she pulled out of her book and dog-earred her page for the third time today.  
>"Always during the good parts," she muttered to herself as she rolled off the bed, made her way down the hallway.<p>

"Myyyykaaaa!" Pete was getting impatient, as seen by his pacing back and forth across the kitchen floor. He could hear her loudly stomping down the stairs. He rolled his eyes at her attempt to show her irritation.

"Listen, you better not be calling me because you can't find the damn milk again. Use your eyes." She said as she reached the kitchen. "This is the third time today and I'm sick…" She stopped as she saw Artie sitting at the table on the porch, his face covered by a file. "Oh," she said as an uncomfortable smile formed on her face.

Pete smiled back at her, shaking his head slightly. "New case. Seems like a bad one. He hasn't said much." They walked to the porch, taking their usual seats next to each other and across from Artie.

"Four girls are missing in Roscoe. No one has yet to connect them together. The police are labeling them all as "runaways" Claudia's computer is going nuts over this town."

"Why haven't they connected them yet? I mean, come on, four runaways in town? Isn't that a little suspicious?" Myka asked as she flipped through the files, the young women's faces staring up at her.

"The first girl to go missing was a freshman atClarksonUniversity. It's common for students to be overwhelmed their first year and act out in ways that go against their personality, like fighting or running away. Her grades were dropping right before she disappeared. The second was a women getting ready to get married. They're blaming cold feet and expect her to come back once she's calmed down. The third was a high schooler, so that's an obvious one. In police eyes, all teens want to run away at one point in their life and a good amount of them act on it."

"And the last one?" Pete asked, looking up at Myka and then Artie.

"Got nothing on her, the police haven't released her name for the public. I've got no idea as to why though."

"So where is Roscoe?" Pete asked, praying for the highly unlikely chance they were going toHawaiior Los Vegas or evenFlorida."

"New York."

"Sweet! The Big Apple!" Pete smiled as he looked at Myka, waiting for her to show some sort of excitement."

"Uh, not exactly. Roscoe is about two hours from the city, in theAdirondacks. Dress warmly." He smiled at both of them as he got up and walked away.

"Oh," he added as he turned around, "be careful Myka. You would fit in well with these girls. I really don't need another missing agent."

"I don't see it." Myka said as she flipped through the folders yet again. She was sitting next to Pete in the rented Trailblazer, driving fromLaGuardiaAirportup to the small rustic town. She stared down at the three pictures in front of her, memorizing each detail. She saw very little in similarity with any of the girls.

Pete looked over at Myka and at the pictures in her lap. He smiled as one thought came to mind. "They're all very beautiful. I'm sure that's what Artie meant." He glanced away from the road again to look at Myka. Her cheeks were bright red and she was attempting to hide behind her large curls. He smiled, realizing she wasn't going to say anything and was most likely going to act as if those simple words didn't come out of his mouth. And though she probably wanted to argue, he knew it was fact. Myka was beautiful. In fact, she was gorgeous. Not like any of the other girls though. She never caked on make-up or teased her hair continuously. Suddenly his mind was flooded with thoughts of Myka. His heart pounded in his ears and his hands began to get clammy. His exhaled, praying that her thoughts would leave him just as quickly as the air left his lungs.

"Pete?" Myka said suddenly, pulling Pete out of his head.

"Oh. Sorry." The light which they had been sitting at flashed green and the cars behind him began honking impatiently. He hit the gas and made his way onto the busy I-87. After about five minutes of driving in agonizing silence Myka finally reached for the radio knob, flipping it, not really caring about what she was listening to. She finally settled on an 80's styled radio station, more so to please Pete than herself. The slowly made their way over the G.W. bridge and after almost four hours and more traffic than one can handle, they finally made it to Roscoe.

"Oh thank god!" Pete yelled when he saw the Roscoe diner move into view. They followed the curved lines till they reached the police station. Throwing the files into her bag, Myka climbed out of the car and followed Pete into the building. "Hi. We're looking for Detective Ross," Pete asked to the first person he saw as he made his way through the entrance.

"Down the hall, last door on the left."

"Thanks." They shuffled past the rows of desks and computers to the long hallway. Myka knocked loudly on the closed off ice door that read "Dt. Jared Ross." A deep voice from behind the door called him in.

"Detective Ross, I'm Agent Lattimer and this is my partner Agent Berring. We called earlier. We're here about the missing women."

"Yes. Sit down. I'll go over what we know so far. I'll be honest I'm still not sure why you're being called in on this but obviously your boss, Mrs. Frederic, has some sort of ties somewhere."

"Oh you'd be surprised. So what have you got?"

Detective Ross was an older looking man, in his early 50's. He had a thin white beard and mustache and a full head of salt and pepper colored hair. He was heavy set and had a soft smile. He looked more like one of those grandfathers that spoiled his grandchildren rotten, and less like a seasoned detective.

"The first girl to go missing; Natalie Dunne. College student, age 20. She's going to school for English education and works at some salon her mother owns. She disappeared two months ago on her way home from work. Her car was found parked in the college parking lot closest to her dorm." He took a breath and looked up at the agents, making sure they were paying close attention.

"Three weeks after Natalie, Kataryzna Bahktin went missing. She's a model fromRussia. I've got no clue why, but Elite, the modeling agency she's with, sent her here for a photo shoot for some Vogue cover. She left during the middle of the shoot for lunch and never returned. After her was Fiona Rionni. She's a newly divorced mother of two. It was two days before her wedding to her fiancé Roger Anders. She disappeared four weeks after Kataryzna. And finally, missing for a total of two days is Wendy Litte. She disappeared four weeks after Fiona. It was the night of her senior prom. Her car was found parked in front of her house but her mom swears she never saw her after she left in the afternoon to get her hair, make-up and nails done."

"They were all getting ready for some big event but Natalie." Myka said,looking up from the notes she had been scribbling down.

"Yes. But they were all in a sort of stressful situation or life style; college, prom and high school, second wedding and a big photo-shoot."

"Why was Kataryzna's name never released to the public? This is the first we're hearing of her." Pete asked.

"Well the company she's shooting for has more money than they know what to do with. They've been paying the media and news-papers to hide her name and what she was doing here so they don't get "bad publicity." I've been telling them it's a bad idea, but no one is listening."

"Why do you think that was a bad idea?"

"Well, most young women who disappear eventually come back after they feel like they've been missed or when they regret what they've done. By releasing her name to the media, showing remorse that they're gone or somehow reaching out the girl to tell her that she's missed generally speeds up their return. Say she's been depressed, thinks the world will be better off without her, which is what most of these runaways think, completely leaving her out of the news will just reinforce that feeling."

Myka and Pete looked at each other in a sort of agreement. "Can we have access to their files?" Myka asked.

"Do I have a choice? I have a feeling your boss is one person I don't particularly want to mess with."

"Wise decision," Pete said with a small chuckle. "She can be...intimidating, to say the least." They took the files and made their way back to their car. They drove for about twenty minutes to the nearest hotel and checked into their adjoining rooms.

**AHH! I finally have a new story up! I hope you all love it and don't worry, I have six chapter written already. Hope you show me some major love and review this story!**

**I owe a HUGE thanks to my AMAZING beta-reader, Poison-Quills for all they did for me! I reposted this chapter and fixed the tons of little mistakes and confusing facts that they pointed out. Hope if you read this again it sounded better :)**

**~*MANDYEM92*~**


	2. Chapter Two

CHAPTER TWO

**In love, it is better to know and be disappointed, than to not know and always wonder  
><strong>**-Unknown**

Myka threw her bag on her bed and opened the door that connected their rooms. She turned around and grabbed the files off the top of her bag and walked over to the little table sitting in the corner, sitting cross-legged on the chair, her back pressed against the wall.

Pete finally made his way in after putting his stuff away. He walked in and glanced at Myka sitting on the chair and then at her bag. He shook his head and smiled. Myka always went straight to work when they got to their hotel rooms, never getting comfortable till they've called it a night, which can, on some occasions, be closer to morning than night.

"Okay. So where do we start?" Myka asked, glancing up from the file at Pete. "I'll be honest, I know Claudia's computer was going crazy around here but I kind of have to agree with Dt. Anders. They seem to be typical run-aways."

"Well, it won't hurt to look right? Especially if the rest of the town is as hot as these four girls and just looking at the police officers, I think I'm right. Besides, I've got a feeling that we'll be smelling fudge sooner than you think," Pete snorted back. He should have half expected the slap on the back of his head after that comment but as always it took him by surprise. Myka resettled herself in her seat and turned back to the file.

"Seriously Pete. We've got 4 women missing. Now I suggest we start at the closest house tomorrow and work our way outwards. We'll interview the family again, see if any suspicious objects have found their way into their life."

"Or fudge." Pete mumbled under his breath. He glanced at Myka as he sat down at the little round table across from her. He could she was trying to hide her smile, obviously she heard his comment.

"What's the closest house?"

"Wendy Little's. She lives with her mother and half-brother, Derek."

"Okay. So Wendy it is. What's in her case-file?"

"Uhm. Single mother, first husband died in a car accident. Then her second husband, Derek's father, died in a house fire."

"Kind of suspicious, don't you think? Two husbands dead?"

"The first was practically plastered and the second was a volunteer fire-fighter."

"OK, never-mind. But still, that's a bad streak of luck. Maybe the mom has got some sort of voodoo-like thing causing her to have bad luck?"

"You do realize, most forms of voodoo have very little to do with what the movies actually show? They have deities and such. It's not just poking dolls with needles and casting evil spirits onto people." Myka said, glancing up from the file and Pete, who was now glaring at her. She smiled at him and continued reading.

"She left home around 11 am for a hair, nail and make-up appointment at some salon place. She told her mother afterwards she'd be grabbing lunch, coming home and then going to prom. Alone."

She looked down at the file again, a stray curl falling in front of her face. Pete fought the urge to walk over and tuck the curl behind her ear, letting his fingers linger on her soft cheeks.

Pete looked her over as she continued to rattle off information. His mind wandered, as it often did, to Myka's perfection. He felt her warm body pressed up against his. He felt her lips brush against his. He heard her laugh and watched her hair bounce. He watched as her hips swayed in their hypnotizing fashion that they always did. He pictured that seductive smile she posed with during their case with Man Ray's camera. He envisioned her lips pressed against his when Alice took control of her body. He imagined her long, elegant fingers roaming across his body, making every nerve in his body feel as if it was on fire. She had no idea what she did to him everyday or how much he enjoyed each second of it.

He felt his cheeks begin to burn and he dropped his eyes to the floor, shoving his hands harshly in his pocket. He tugged at his collar, the room suddenly feeling stiflingly hot. "Well. It's getting late Myka and we should get an early start tomorrow. So, uhm, good night." He stumbled slightly over his words, turning around quickly and made his way to the door.

"Good night Pete." Myka said, not looking up from the files, not bothering to look up at Pete. He closed the adjoining door behind him and threw himself on his bed, letting out a heavy sigh. He mentally kicked himself for letting his imagination get the best of him, which it always seems to do. He closed in eyes, falling into a deep sleep.

He liked sleeping. In fact, he welcomed it every night and would, if possible, sleep all day, every day. When he slept he could be with Myka. He took comfort in knowing that when he closed his eyes he would be welcomed by Myka. No regrets. No worries. No rules. It was sheer bliss and prayed it would last forever.

Myka stared at the file for almost an hour after Pete left. She wasn't aware of what she was look at. All she saw was the intense, almost fierce look Pete gave her, for a split second, while she was reading the file aloud. In any other man she would have said the look she caught in the corner of her eye was one of a lust-driven mind. But not Pete. Pete had love and passion, not lust. Or so she thought, seeing as she never in fact tested that out, as much as she wished she could. Besides, Pete couldn't have feelings for her. Ever. He loved the beautiful social butterfly, not the nerd with control issues.

She scolded herself for even letting the thought that Pete could ever feel anything romantic towards her seep into her head. She finally dragged herself out of her chair, her body sluggishly going through the motions of getting ready for bed. Her body seemed to simply not want to comply with anything.

As she stared up at the ceiling, the blanket tucked under her chin, she allowed her mind to wander back to Pete. She closed her eyes as the images floated into her head as they had done so many nights before.

She heard his laugh. She saw him stuffing his face with cookies. She saw him yanking off his shirt, ready to prove his "manliness," his muscles gleaning in the light. She felt his rough hands hungrily rake over her body. She saw his smile; his best feature. She cherished these moments, as unreal as they were. It was during these moments that Pete was hers and hers alone.

**Am I uploading too fast? NAHH! Though I promise you if you press that lovely review button I'll post faster. Is my motivation working? Please say yes because I've got documents just sitting in the Doc Manager just dying to get posted. Lots of love and I hope you'll stick with this!  
>~*MANDYEM92*~<strong>


	3. Chapter Three

CHAPTER THREE

**To love is to risk not being loved in return. To hope is to risk pain. To try is to risk failure, but risk must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing  
><strong>**-Unknown**

He woke with a jerk, his heart pounding frantically against his chest. He rubbed his eyes, trying to get rid of the images that had seemed to burn themselves into his mind. It was the worst nightmare he had ever had.

_He stood still, he feet seemingly glued to the ground. Myka stood in front of him, her cheeks stained with tears. He could hear her crying his name, pleading for him to come her, to take her away. She pleaded for him to save her and all he could do is watch.  
><em>  
><em>Suddenly a red-cloaked figure appeared behind Myka, its face a black pool of nothingness. He shot his hand into her chest and her screams of pain filled the room. He saw her face contort in pain, her screams turned to broken cries. Pete cried as he felt her agony and pain and still he could do nothing. Finally the figure pulled its hand out of Myka's chest, a white mist-like form in its clutch.<br>_  
><em> "Useless little bitch. Nothing but a snack." He hissed, his voice making Pete's blood run cold. The figure flashed in front of Pete, holding the white mist in front of him. Suddenly it took a deep, wheezing breath, inhaling the mist. Myka's body finally slumped over into a heap. Pete began to scream and swung wildly at the creature but nothing seemed to work. His chest ached and a fear and anger boiled within him.<br>_  
><em> "It's useless, you know. I thought you would have figured it out after all these years. It's inevitable. You can't hold on to those you love. If you didn't love her, maybe she'd be alive. That's how the game is played." He figure whispered in Pete's ear as one long, white and boney finger pointed in Myka's direction. With that the figure burst into flames, along with Myka's body. Pete sobbed as he stood there, watching the black smoke rise from her charred remains.<br>_  
>He rolled over, staring at the clock on the side table. 5:30. His chest hurt, and his head spun. He was sweating and his sheets where all tangled around him. <em>Worst sleep ever,<em>he thought as he threw his legs over the side of his bed. He slowly walked to the bathroom door, turning on a cold shower.

He stepped in, his body practically screaming from the ice water that hit is hot body. But he didn't care. He stood there as the water beat loudly against his body, his mind struggling to find something to focus on other than Myka. His anger started to spill over into his thoughts. He shouldn't have feelings for Myka. It wasn't right. It will jeopardize their relationship. Their job. Their lives. It'll put her in danger and it will all be his fault.

He finally stepped out of the shower, and got dressed for the day, dreading having to put his usually happy smile on. As he finished he heard a soft knock on the adjoining door.

"Come on in." Pete answered as he straightened his tie. Myka walked over, swatting his hands away.  
>"It's too short. And crooked. You know, as a guy, you're not that great at putting ties on." She said with a smile as she began fixing his tie.<p>

"Hey!" He smiled back at Myka as she tightened the tie. He tried to hold himself together but as soon as she spoke, his composure broke down. He plastered on his usual goofy smile and tried to sound happy as she played with his tie. "Did you sleep well?" He asked somewhat quietly.

"Yeah, I guess. Are you okay?" Myka asked as she stepped back, looking Pete in the eyes. She could tell something was off. He was tense and his voice was strained. His smile, though genuine to everyone else, looked forced to her

He couldn't help but smile at how well Myka knew him. "Bad dream. It kept me up. I guess it just threw me off a little, you know?" He said, walking towards the closet to grab his jacket. He finally glanced back a Myka who was leaning against the door frame, her arms crossed his front of her chest. She was dressed in a light blue dress shirt and tan slacks. She pulled her hair up into a fight bun, a few loose curls falling in the front of her face. Pete couldn't help but marvel at how beautiful yet simple she looked.

He pushed the nightmare to the back of his mind where it would eventually get lost in his disorganized, messy memory and maybe, years from now, it would come back to him like all things he'd forgotten do, at the most pointless of moments.

**Sorry this is so short but if you know me, I like to break up my chapters very specifically. I'm not a fan of too much happening in one chapter. How are you supposed to keep readers interested, right? :) I know, that sounds so mean, but whatever. You'll have to deal. Hope you're liking it so far. I have about 6 and 1/2 chapters written so I'm probably post one more tomorrow. After this one I'm gonna make the time between the posts a little longer because I'm a little stuck in chapter 7 and I don't wanna post like every day and then have like two weeks of nothing. That's just mean. Please please please please review! The more reviews, the less writer's-block (or at least in theory :P )**

**~*MANDYEM92*~ **


	4. Chapter Four

CHAPTER FOUR

**Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending  
><strong>**-Maria Robinson**

They made their way up the long, gravel driveway, the crunching under the wheels filling the car. Myka unbuckled her seat-belt and jumped out of the car before Pete had even pulled the eyes out of the ignition.

"A little excited, huh?" He said with a smile. He knew the feeling. They'd been stuck in the Warehouse doing pointless, time-consuming work that Artie had been putting off for weeks. Their last two weeks had been spent changing light-bulbs, taking inventory, reorganizing the bookshelves in Artie's office and other menial tasks.

"It's about damn time we get out of the office." Myka said as she reached the door, ringing the doorbell. After a few quick moments a young boy, about eight opened the door. He had shaggy strawberry-blond hair that feel slightly into his eyes gray-green eyes.

"Yes?" He asked, looking up at Myka with a nervous look.

"Hi. I'm Agent Bering. Is your mom home? I need to talk to her."

The boy seemed deep in thought for a second, staring at the welcome mat under Myka's feet. "This is about Wendy, right?" He said in a small voice. Myka knelt down to be eye-level with the young boy.

"Yes. We're here to find your sister and bring her home."

The boy contemplated Myka's answer for a few moments before saying anything. "You promise?" He boy said, finally looking into Myka's eyes. She smiled, trying to hold back tears as she saw a hint of hope in the little boys eyes.

"I promise." With that, the boy ran up the stairs, yelling for his mother to come to the door. A few moments later a tired looking women, with bright red hair appeared in front of the door. Myka introduced her and Pete quickly and asked if they could talk.

"Yes. Come in." She answered, closing the door softly behind them.

"Do you have a recent picture of Wendy? The picture in the file says it was taken last year." Pete asked as her mother showed them into the family living room. Her mother, who introduced herself as Sophia Marks, handed her a framed photo of Wendy.

"It was taken two weeks ago on our trip to Virginia. Wendy was so excited to miss two days of school." Sophia said as she handed Pete the picture. The family in the picture were smiling widely in front of a large oak tree. Sophia was standing in the middle, her arms draped around Wendy's and Joseph's, the little boy at the door, shoulders.

Wendy was the spitting-image of her mother. She had freckles under her bright green eyes and short, lighter brown hair. She had her mother's eyes and nose, which was thin and elegant-looking. "You have a beautiful daughter, Mrs. Little." Pete said as he passed the picture to Myka, Sophia mumbled a quick thank you and began fiddling with the pile of magazines on the coffee table.

"Can you tell us all that you know about the night Wendy went missing?" Myka asked as she watched the women straighten and re-straighten the pile of magazines in front of her.

"She went to some salon. Paradise Salon, I think it was called, to get her make-up and hair done. She called me as she was leaving and told me that she was going to grab lunch, pick up her dress, and head to her friend's house to get ready. I was busy finishing up my reports for work the next day that I honestly wasn't even listening to what she said. I have no idea what friend she went to and didn't even hear her come in." She began to choke back tears, sniffling quickly. Myka moved from her seat and sat next to Sophia, placing a hand on her back.

"Don't beat yourself up over this. You had no idea. We all get caught up from them to time. None of this is your fault."

"What mother ignores their child when they're talking to them?" She asked, not really looking for an answer. She took a moment to calm herself done and then began again.

"I didn't even hear her pull up in front of the house, or hear her come in, if she even made it to the door. Joseph was downstairs, playing some stupid video-game and he swears he didn't hear anything either. Around 11 o'clock, after putting Joseph to bed and finishing my work, I noticed that her car was parked at the curb. She never parks at the curb. She always pulls into the driveway. Always. She's terrified someone is going to hit her new car. I looked around and called for her but got no answer. I finally called all her friends I knew and they said she never showed up for Prom. That's when I panicked and called the police."

"Did she have a date for prom?" Pete asked.

"No. Or at least that is what she told me."

"Who can we talk to then, for more information about that day?"

"Well, she was supposed to go to her best friend's house, Emma Garvey. She probably knows more than anyone else." She answered as she dried her eyes. She scribbled her address quickly on a piece of paper and handed it to Myka.

"May I ask about your husbands?" Myka folded the address and pushed it into her pocket, all the while keeping eye-contact with Sophia.

Sophia took a deep breath and glanced over at the staircase. On the top step, peaking out from behind where the wall met the railing was Joseph. Sophia quickly looked away and Joseph took that as he cue to leave.

"I guess the more you know the better, right?" She took a deep breath and began. "I married Derek Little straight out of High School. The marriage began to fall apart as soon as the honeymoon was over. I had Wendy two years later, around the same time Derek started spending more time with the bottle than with us. He quit his job and sat around all day, bossing me around and telling me how everything was my fault. When Wendy was four Derek went out for a drink and simply never came back. The next day I got a visit from the police saying that they found his car wrapped around a tree off the side of some back road, five minutes from the bar. Then when Wendy was about six I met Steven Marks. It was two years later that we got married. A few months later we had Joseph. When Joseph was about nine months Steven went off to a house fire, as he usually did. The roof collapsed, killing three firefighters, one of them being Steven. It took Wendy years to get over his death. She really loved him, called him 'dad' as soon as he moved in with me. Poor Joseph didn't even get a chance to know him, but I guess that's for the better."

There was a long pause before anyone could muster up the courage to say anything. It was a loud silence, if that could be possible at all, and it made its victims squirm in discomfort. Her words seemed to linger in the air, making the room unbearable.

"What about school? Did Wendy have problems in school that would make her want to run away?" Myka asked.

"From what I know, no. But she didn't tell me a lot about school. She was a quiet girl, liked to keep her business and feelings to herself. She was always that way. She never told me when she was upset or hurt. She just dealt with her problems by might wanna ask Emma. She'll know more than me." Sophia answered, looking again at the magazine pile in shame.

"So you don't believe your daughter ran away?"

"No. She would never. I've told the police over and over again, but no one believes me. My daughter would not run away." Myka nodded in agreement and understanding.

"I know this is going to sound odd," Pete finally said, "but have you come into contact with anything recently that may have seemed, I don't know, off. Like some sort of antique or relic or something of that sort? Anything new?" He braced himself for the strange looks or comments but got nothing.

"No. Nothing. Nothing new has come into this house besides clothes and food." They then ran through the usualk questions, from odd feelings to the smell of fudge. Though they could see they were confusing her more and more, Sophia tolerated their questions and answered them polietly.

"Okay. Well, thank you so much for the help. We'll come to you as soon as we get any sort of lead." Myka said as she stood up, grabbing Pete's arm softly.

"Thank you. It means a lot that someone believes me when I say my daughter would not simply run away." After the exchange of numbers, Myka and Pete climbed into their truck and headed done the winding roads towards Emma's house.

**Trying to make my chapters longer but as you know, I'm hate long chapters with too much going on. I think it's nice to have nice breaks and it makes things flow better, or at least I think so...So yeah, two more chapters left to be posted and than the chapters will be posted farther apart...sorry people! Oh, and as I little side note, I'll be away from Friday till Monday so don't expect any new chapters. I might post an author note but I wanna enjoy by camping trip. Not that you guys aren't enjoyable or anything. Cuz if you're reading my stories you are my best friend already :)**

**~*MANDYEM92*~**


	5. Quickie note

**Hey hey hey!**

**Okay so I owe you guys a big apology and some explaining!**

**So my computer crapped out on my last week. And if you've ever followed any of my stories you'll know by now this is a re-occurring theme. I have to get a new computer. First it's a virus, then it's my mother-board, and this time it was my video card AND my mouse connect (because I have a cordless one).**

**So my dad (who I owe a GIGANTIC thanks to) fixed my computer! The next chapter, once I'm done editing it, will be up ASAP. I'm hoping by tonight.**

**I think I've finally learned my lesson and I'm now saving ALL my chapters on my flash-drive, not my desktop...Now hopefully I never lose my flashdrive...**

**I LOVE YOU ALL FOR STICKING WITH ME! I'VE GOT TONS OF CHAPTERS ALREADY PLANNED OUT SO THEY'LL BE UP SOON!**

**~*MANDYEM02*~**


	6. Chapter Five

A/N: Hope you guys are loving the story so far...Sorry I took so long to post. I'm thinking about doing a chapter without Pete and Myka, would you guys be interested? It'll probably be a flashback to expand on one of the girls disappearances. Tell me if you guys would be interested!

**Perhaps our eyes need to be washed by our tears once in a while, so that we can see Life with a clearer view again.  
>-<strong>**Alex Tan**

"Where, if not at home, could she have come in contact with this artifact? If there really is one." Pete asked, drumming in fingers on the steering wheel to "September" by Earth, Wind and Fire. Myka reached forward and flipped the radio off

"Hey! Do you realize what song you just turned off?"

"No and I really don't care." Myka answered, rolling her eyes as she prepared herself for one of Pete's rants.

"You just turned off Earth, Wind and Fire. Earth, Wind and Fire! One of the greatest groups ever. Myka you really need to get out more often and listen to some real music. With words." He waited for the lash-back that he knew was coming.

"And maybe you should take you're head out of your butt every once in awhile and pay attention to what's going around you. Like the case of instance." She snapped back.

"My head being up my butt has no effect on good music, not that my head is really up my butt. But hey, better my own head than a stick." He answered back, knowing just which one of Myka's buttons to press.

"I do not have a st-. You know what, forget it. There is no point in arguing with you. It's like arguing with a child. Actually no, I think I child has more maturity and skill in argument than you."

"Ouch Myka. I'm hurt."

"Good." She muttered back with a smile.

To any person listening to their conversation they'd be convinced that Pete and Myka hated each other and went out of their way to piss the other off. Though the latter statement may be true from time to time, especially for Pete, their bickering back and forth was a form of endearment, in its own strange way.

"Now, back to your question that I was going to answer before I was so rudely interrupted." She said, giving Pete's arm a little shove. "We've got the dress store, wherever she went to eat and possibly her friend's house." Myka answered, flipping through the other files for what seemed like the hundredth time.

"But her mother said that Wendy never made it to Emma's house."

'Well, that's based off of the assumption that Emma is telling the truth." Myka answered, not bothering to look up from the file.

"And you're assuming she isn't?"

"We can't take anything for granted. Kids lie. Everyone lies. It's human nature. Plus, with an artifact involved, we have no idea what the side-affects could be."

There car ride was rather silent except for the occasional crunch of gravel or snapping twigs under the tires as the car road across the unpaved roads. Around them it seemed as though the land was untouched by humans. The trees bent over the roads, casting long shadows down both sides. The roads winded through the mountains, dipping and swaying majestically. The trees danced to the song supplied by the brook that ran parrallel to the road. This was god's country; safe from human defilement and destruction.

Pete glanced over at Myka as he made his way off the rustic road, onto a side-street with a few house. She was engrossed in her reading, completely unaware of Pete's gaze. He loved to watch her read. Her eyebrows pulled together, she made faces with her lips. And her eyes; her eyes burned with an intensity and passion he never saw in her eyes before. He pushed his focus back to the road, slowing down as he made his way down the steep hill. He pulled into a short driveway and cut the engine. They climbed out, walking up the large hill to the brick house surrounded by towering trees. Pete knocked on the door, taking the moment to take in the property.

The door flew open and exposed a tall, male, about the age of 25, in jeans, no shirt and wet hair, his hands rubbing a towel to it. Pete glanced over at Myka, trying to gauge her reaction to the half-naked man in front of her. He could see her cheeks becoming slightly red as she tried to avoid looking at anything but his face. He kicked himself for the twinge of jealously that ran through his body. He had nothing to be jealous of, he told himself over and over again. She was blushing because of embarrassment and awkwardness, nothing more, he chanted inside his head.

"-talk to Emma?" He heard Myka ask, suddenly becoming aware of the fact that he hadn't been listening to anything she had said to the man before that. The man, who he didn't learn till later on was named Rich, stepped aside and yelled down the hall for his sister. They heard a girl yell back and make her way into the foyer.

"Yes?" She said with a smile, nodding at her brother to go back to what he was doing before. She was a petite girl, with bright, large eyes. Her slim figure was dressed in a knee-length, pale green dress that clung to her hips. Her tanned skin reflected the light coming in from the door, making her look almost angelic.

"Hi. I'm Agent Bering, this is Agent Lattimer. We're here to talk to you about your friend, Wendy." Emma's smile fell as their words reached her ears.

"Uhm." She glanced behind her, awkwardly pointing at the kitchen entrance at the end of the main hallway. "Want to sit down?"

"Sure" Myka said and they walked towards the kitchen.

"Would you like something to drink? Lemonade? Water?"

"Lemonade please, and thank you." Myka answered for both of them.

"I don't want to sound pessimistic," Emma said as she reached for three glasses above the sink, "but haven't you guys already labeled Wendy as a runaway? I thought that meant the investigation was done?"

"Do you believe that she did?"

"No, but what can I do about it? Nothing, that's what." She slid the drinks towards them and sat on the other side of the counter.

"You could tell us all you remember about that day."

"Fine. Well, Wendy went to get her hair and make-up done at Paradise Salon. She was going to meet at my house, along with Lilly, Ann and Stacey and all our dates. She was-"

"Wait. Wendy had a date?"

"Yeah. Darius Vinson, from Calculus class."

"Her mother said she was going with just friends."

"Not surprised. Wendy didn't tell her mom much. Don't get me wrong, she loves her mom but she can be, well, judgmental when it comes to men."

"Were they dating?"

"Yes, for about five months. They're so cute together." She answered with a half-hearted smile.

"So. She went to the salon, and then what?" Pete asked, finally speaking up.

"Yes. She texted me when she was almost done. She said she was going to grab something quick at the diner, pick up her dress and then meet me at my house by 6. The limo was picking us up at 7 and prom starts around 8-ish. She simply never showed up. I got no texts from her after that one. I called a bunch of times but she never picked up. Eventually we had to leave without her. I mean we paid for the limo and the tickets. We weren't going to miss the prom because she wasn't there." She paused, realizing she was beginning to raise her voice as if she was arguing with herself, trying to rationalize her actions. "We did the right thing, right? We had no idea she was missing. I would have looked for her, honestly. She's like my sister. This isn't my fault, is it? I should have looked for her, not gone to the stupid prom." She hung her head, letting the tears fall freely down her cheek.

Her cries must have carried throughout the big house because moments later her brother, thankful with a shirt on, came pounding into the room. He threw his arm protectively around his sister's shoulder and glared at the agents in front of him. "Maybe it'd be best if you left now. Don't you guys think you've done enough damage? Three girls are missing and you guys are just doing something now? What use is it now? Damn police." Rich glanced down at his sister, who was still struggling to calm down.

"Rich, we're not with the local police. We work for another department. Believe me, we would have came sooner if we were notified that there were three girls missing in one town. We'll find her, Emma. I promise." Myka paused, taking a deep breath. "And Emma. No, none of this is your fault. Believe me, there was nothing you could have done."

Rich took a deep breath, checking his anger. "Another department? Like what, FBI, CIA?" He asked, his voice still seething with anger.

"Something like that." Pete muttered, glancing at his glass. The one thing he hated was not being able to tell them what was going on.

"You think it's something more than just runaways?" Rich asked as he glanced down at his sister.

"We can't tell you much, sorry." Pete paused, looking over at Myka who was eerily quiet. Pete sighed and asked Rich and Emma if they'd bought anything new or came in contact with anything, or anyone, that seemed strange to them. He practically grilled Emma about the days leading up to the prom and was more than satisfied that whatever happened, didn't happen here.

"Emma, if you can think of anything that might be of use, please tell us." Pete said as Myka still at a lose for words. Emma shook her head, causing her sniffles to get louder." Here is our card. If you remember anything, don't hesitate to call." With that Pete and Myka left, the sounds of Emma's sobs still filling the house.

**Thank you guys soooo much for being patient with me! A lot has been going on with my computer and I'm just thankful that it's up and running! I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far and I will try very hard to start posting more often...**

**REVIEWS ARE LOVED, APPRECIATED AND READ! Speaking of reviews, I gotta give some awesome shout outs to some of my awesome reviewers...**

**Jody-I'm trying as fast as I can!  
><span>kalia. nicole<span>- thanks for the amazing reviews!  
><span>lastautumn89<span>-thanks a million for your reviews. I look forward to more! And I'm so thrilled that I have the honor of my story being your first WH story. I hope it's not your last and I hope you keep reading (and post ones of your own, maybe?)**

**~*MANDYEM92*~ **


	7. Chapter Six

**For everything you have missed, you have gained something else, and for everything you gain, you lose something else  
><strong>**-Ralph Waldo Emerson**

A/N: Sorry, but this chapter was a bit of a filler because I'm working diligently on the upcoming ones. I wanna do a sort of flashblack-y thing with one of the missing girls...Just gotta pick one :)

Pete grabbed the files, flipping through them aimlessly. He grabbed Wendy's file a tossed it on the dashboard. He then read off the addresses inside Kataryzna's, Fiona's and Natalie's folders as Myka found them on the map. "The closest is Natalie's work, the first victim." Myka read off the directions quickly and Pete backed his way out to the street.

About five minutes into their drive Myka heard a large grumble coming from the man next to her. She couldn't control her giggles as she looked at Pete, unconsciously rubbling his belly. "Hungry for dinner yet?" She asked with a laugh.

"Hell yes!"

"Turn here. The town map says there is a pizzera here." He turned onto Country Road 127 and at the end of the road was Raimondo's Restaurant. They were greeted by an older women with a mess of gray hair tied into a sloppy bun. She had a sweet, welcoming smile and offered Pete and Myka the booth towards the back of the restaurant. They sat down and ordered pizza, Pete stuffing his face as soon as the waitress walked away.

"So." Myka said as she took a bit of her pizza. "What are you thinking?"

He swallowed the pizza in his mouth and took a gulp of soda. "That this pizza is delicious." He smiled as he took another swig of is soda. He was waiting for Myka's eye-roll and felt a pang of satisfaction when it came. "I'm thinking she didn't come in contact with the artifact at home or at Emma's. If it was at Emma's her friends would have disappeared as well, not some random, unconnected women."

"We're assuming they've got nothing in common. There has to be some sort of connection. There has to be. If there isn't we'll be floundering here for days, if not weeks, looking for whatever it is that's doing this."

"What if they did just run away?" Pete asked, finishing off his soda.

"Because I don't believe it. I have, what do you call it? A "feeling" about this. Wendy didn't just run away. I don't think she would have."

Pete couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, so when you have a feeling about something we assume its right, but when I do you question me every step of the way. I see how it is now." Pete said with a laugh. Myka kicked him under the table, grumbling back at him.

Pete loved picking on Myka. It wasn't that he wanted to irritate her, that was just an added bonus. He loved how her face scrunched up, her fingers would suddenly begin tapping on whatever surface was nearby and she would start to learn her head to one side. He loved that look. It was the childish side of Myka that he wished would come out more often. As much as he loved Myka the way she was he wished she'd loosen up and have fun. He swore that if she stayed uptight for much longer she'd die of a heart-attack.

With that thought his nightmare from the morning came flooding back to him. He glanced up from his pizza and across from him Myka was crying, her face contorted in pain. His heart began to race and he felt like he was back in the hotel room, thrashing around the bed. He blinked a few times till Myka was back to normal, eating her pizza like nothing had happened. Pete got up suddenly and mumbled to the now normal Myka that he had to go to the bathroom.

As soon as he walked into the bathroom he headed straight for the sink, spinning the knob till the water was gushing out of it with max force. He cupped his hands and threw the icy water across his face. He stood there, the sound of the rushing water filling the small, wood-paneled bathroom. He kept his hands on his face for a few moments longer, resting his elbows on the sink. Finally he stood up and turned the faucet off and looked into the mirror in front of him. He shook his head at the tired eyes in front of him. He needed to get a better grip on reality, which meant he needed either more sleep or a good whack upside the head. And in all honestly he preferred the latter. With sleep came nightmares.

He left the bathroom and made his way back to their table. "How far are we from Natalie's house?" He asked as he sat down.

"Almost two hours. She leaves outside of Roscoe. But, her mother owns a salon that she works at which is on the other side of town."

"So, where do we hit first?" Pete asked as he stood up, grabbing their garbage. He glanced at his watch which read7:30. "Oh man. Do you think we should even bother?" He asked as he showed Myka his watch.

They walked to the front of the restaurant and paid their bill. As they got back into their trailblazer Myka dialed the number for the salon. She held the phone between her cheek and shoulder as she looked at Natalie's file again.

She sighed and clicked the phone closed. She dialed another number and waited as Pete pulled out of the driveway. "Go to the hotel." Myka said as she slammed her phone shut. "The salon is closed and no one is picking up the phone at Natalie's house."

"Well, duh. She's missing. How do you expect her to answer the phone?" Pete said with a laugh as he rounded a corner.

"I'm not an idiot Pete. And maybe if you had read her file you'd know that she lives with her boyfriend."

"I read her file…somewhat." He looked over at Myka and caught her typical, "you've-got-to-be-kidding-me" look. "Okay, I glanced over it." He said as he focused back on the road. After a few moments he flipped on the radio and spun the dial till a clear station came on.

As they were driving back Pete became aware of Myka singing softly to the song on the radio. He never pegged Myka as a Joan Jett fan, but than again most things about Myka surprised him. Again that was another thing that made him love Myka. At this rate he could create a two page list of the reasons why he loved Myka.

"You have a pretty voice." He said suddenly, not even realizing the words had come out of his mouth. He smiled as she glanced at Myka who was blushing from ear to ear.

"Uhm, thanks." Myka answered back with a shy smile. When Pete glanced back over at Myka she was hiding behind her curls again. He loved how quickly he could make her blush and how the red that spread across her cheeks seemed to make her even more beautiful.

**So...liking it so far? Huh? Huh?  
>I hope you're reviewing this because it means the world to me to get reviews...and believe it or not I like ones with plot suggestions, corrections and critics. Any criticism is good criticism...unless you're down-right mean.<strong>

**~*MANDYEM92*~**


	8. Chapter Seven

A/N: As lame as this sounds, and I know everyone gives this excuse, but I've had a lot on my plate in the last few weeks and the motivation and inspiration for this story just wasn't there. That being said, I've got all of next week free, so expect another chapter soon. Again, apologies all around, especially to those who have stuck it out from my first posting.

CHAPTER SEVEN

**Love is the condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.**

**-Robert Heinlein**

It felt like it took six hours, but they finally made it back to the hotel. It didn't help that along the way home Pete took three wrong turns and then _had_ to stop at some ice cream parlor for dessert. Myka was more than ready to push Pete out of the car after the second wrong turn but reminded herself that Leena and Artie wouldn't be so happy when a scrape-covered Pete walked into the B&B.

Myka slammed the car door behind her when Pete finally put the car in park just outside their rooms. "You really can be a moron some times, you know that?"

"Yes. And that's why you love me so much. Don't deny it." Pete said as he caught up with Myka, who was now childishly stomping towards her room door. He nudged her with his elbow and wiggled his eyebrows, hoping to get some sort of laugh from her. Instead her got the usual, I'm-pissed-at-you-and-don't-even-try-it-because-you-know-it-won't-work look that he seemed to always get. It was mixture of daggers from her eyes, her lip pulled tight to one side and her eyebrows tilted in. As unattractive as it sounded, again Pete found it endearing and a little quirky.

"You know what, I take it back." She said as she stepped into her room, Pete closing the door behind her. "It's not most of the time, it's all the time." She narrowed her eyes and stared at Pete with an evil smirk. She was looking for time to just egg him on. She loved to bicker with him. She never had a sibling to argue with, seeing as Tracy wanted nothing to do with her, and Pete was definitely the right person to do it with.

In fact, the more she thought about it, the more she realized that Pete sort of brought out her inner child, the one that was never allowed to come out when she was younger. Her father always scolded her for running around the shop, making up silly songs, sneaking candy or getting dirty. He treated her like an adult before she even understood what the word really entailed. There was no arguing, no yelling, and in her eyes, no fun.

But with Pete, none of that matter. She could sing a stupid song or argue with him about absolutely nothing and he'd go along with all of it. He always told her to loosen up and she knew that that was finally something she could do, as long as it was just the two of them.

As she sat there, smirking at Pete as he tried to ignore her, she started to feel her heart begin to race. The more she stared, the faster it pumped. She watched as the muscles in his back moved as he leaned down to pull of his shoes. Or how his pants hugged him tightly in all the right places. She stared at his hair, which seemed to give him the perfect mixture of boyish charm and professionalism.

She started to feel flush and she could feel the butterflies fluttering around her stomach.

_Great. Just great._ She thought to herself as she watched Pete aimlessly walk around the room. _Now I can't even control my own thoughts. How am I supposed to focus when all I can think about is him. Just great._

"What you thinking about?" Pete asked, startling Myka.

_You_, she thought but simply answered "nothing," which was the best answer she could come up with at the time. _I can't like him. Period, end of story. _She couldn't help but laugh at herself as she tried to convince herself that there was absolutely nothing between them, at least on her side, that is.

He sat down next to her on the bed and pushed her slightly with his shoulder.

"I know you enjoy every minute with me. And you'd miss me if I wasn't here." He said with another nudge.

"Yeah. I'd miss you like the plague." She retorted back with a shove.

"Ouch. You're hurting me Myka, really." Pete quipped back, with yet another light shove. Suddenly they started shoving each other back and forth, Myka falling into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. Myka pushed him hard with her shoulder and when he pushed back Myka lost her balance and began to slip off the bed. Pete grabbed her by the waist quickly and pulled her back onto the bed, pulling her tightly to him. He wasn't quite sure as to why he did that, but he did. She could've fallen; it wasn't like the bed was that high up. And she probably would have started laughing even harder. But instead he suddenly felt the urge to be closer to her, to feel her body next to his, something their little shoving match wasn't really helping.

He stared at her, their noses almost touching. He could feel her heart pounding and her chest rising and falling quickly against his. He could feel the heat radiating from her across his whole body and his hand felt almost numb as is fingers brushed against a tiny section of exposed skin right above her jeans. He looked into her eyes and feel into a sort of trance. All his senses were on over-drive and he fell into a sort of high that he'd never felt before. He wanted to capture her lips with his and never let go.

She cleared her throat, realizing how close they had gotten. She could feel his warm breath tickling her cheeks and it sent shivers down her spine. She could see, and almost feel, the fire burning in his eyes as he looked right at her. She glanced down at her lap and mumbled something about getting some sleep and slid herself out of Pete's arms and off the bed.

She practically ran into her room and quickly shut the door behind her. Pete sat there for what felt like an eternity, sulking in the sudden coldness that surrounded him. He missed the warmth that encompassed him when she was that close. He threw himself backwards, sighing heavily at his stupidity. _Great. I've scared her off. What the hell was I thinking? Why did I do that? Why am I a complete moron?_ He tried looking for answers, logical ones that is, but he came to the same conclusion every time. He was in love and it was making him go insane.


	9. Chapter Eight

A/N: So, I always hated the idea of the reader knowing who the bad guy is before the characters, but after much consideration I've decided that this flashback will help make things a little less confusing later on, and even though it does tell you who the evil-doer is, it doesn't explain why.

THAT BEING SAID, IF YOU DON'T WANNA KNOW WHO'S DOING IT, DON'T READ THIS CHAPTER…IT IS NOT A NECESSARY CHAPTER FOR THE STORY!

The bell echoed through the small waiting room as the glass door was pulled open. The young girl at the front desk glanced up with a small and whispered something into the phone she was holding before putting it down.

"Well hello!" She practically screeched, her voice almost high enough to break glass. "Welcome toParadiseSalon!" She squeaked out, flashing her pearly whites. "I'm Lola, what's your name?" She flipped her bleach-blonde hair back over her shoulders and opened the appointment book in front of her.

"Uhm. Wendy Little. I'm here for hair and make-up." The young red-head in front of her smiled shyly. She fidgeted with the wallet in her hands and out of a nervous habit, starting biting her inner cheek.

"Oh! Well you're just a tad early. Darlene and Cassy are just finishing up with there clients. If you just sit down right over there and get comfortable I will call you over when one of them is ready for you." The receptionist pointed her fake, glitter covered nails to the overstuffed and overly decorated couch placed against the back wall.

Wendy took a moment to take in her surroundings. It was a large room, with chairs lined across the right wall and a large shelf of seemingly pointless products that more often than not did less than what they promised. There was door way to the right of the receptionists desk that lead to the rest of the building, two large rooms for make-up, hair and whatnot, and another, closed room for massages.

She looked back at the receptionist's desk and was thankfully not greeted by her obnoxious smile or high-pitched voice. The receptionist had her back to Wendy and the phone pressed up against her ear, twirling her hair absent-mindedly. She let out a loud and earth-shattering laugh that sounded like it should have come from some sort of wild hyena. Wendy rolled her eyes. _I shouldn't have come here. This is ridiculous. I could be home, doing my own hair and make-up for prom instead of sitting here, listening to Miss Sunshine over there. I should never have listened to Emma!_

"Oh Wendy sweetie! Darlene is ready for you in hair. This first station on my left." Lola chirped, covering the mouthpiece of the phone with her hand. Wendy could not hold back another eye-roll as she made her way over the chair closest to the doorway. Wendy plopped herself down in the leather seat and mumbled something about wavy hair and pulling it half-up. She honestly had no idea what she was talking about. All that was on her mind as she stared at her reflection in the mirror was; what would he think?

Darius was the perfect guy; tall, dark, handsome and perfect in every way. He had dimples that made his crooked smile irresistible. And his eyes were honey-colored and seemed to sparkle when he laughed. He was smart and mature and charming in every situation. He was a dreamer, with big hopes and high expectations. He was perfect and more than Wendy felt she deserved.

Darius had never seen her in make-up or a dress or even with her hair down. Straight ponytail, jeans and a short-sleeve shirt every day, without fail. She was geek, not some pretty popular girl. She contemplated whether or not Darius would see her as some sort of fake, being someone she wasn't by dressing like all those girls she hated at school.

She pushed the thought out of her mind as Darlene escorted her to the back of the store and into the first large room. The room was lined on either side of room with make-up stations, each one cluttered with different powders and creams. Wendy looked to her left and saw a small room with a blue leather bed and plants pushed into the corners. To her right was a large opening into another room, this one filed with tables and an unnamable amount of nail polish in colors that even she couldn't comprehend. Darlene pointed her to the last make-up station on the left. As she walked past the rest of the stations she made a mental note about the fact that they were all empty. _Boy, I didn't think business could be that bad._

"Why hello. I'm Cassy. Now, prom, right? Let me see your eyes." Wendy was taken slightly aback by Cassy's quick words and rushed acquaintanceship. Wendy took it that she was city-raised girl. No one rushes through formalities and speech in Roscoe, a town known for its relaxed and sometimes frighteningly slow pace. She felt uneasy from her tone and a sense of anxiety washed over her. She hated being rushed. Simply hated it.

Wendy looked up at her a few seconds and then quickly looked back down at her lap. She suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable, like she was under some sort of microscope, being evaluated and judged.

"Hmm? Well I'm thinking a very light purple, maybe a hint of blue. What color is your dress?" She asked, making Wendy more self-conscious.

"It's, uhm, light blue." Wendy hesitated, still trying to get used to the pace of Cassy's speech.

"Good. Well just sit back, relax, and let me do the magic." Cassy said with a soft smile that relaxed Wendy a bit. "So. You excited? Got a date?" Cassy asked with a wiggle of her eyebrow as she began to apply foundation to Wendy's face.

"Yes. I've got a date." Wendy answered, trying to force herself to relax.

"Is he good looking?" Cassy asked. Her words seemed slower and more deliberate, like she was thinking everything through more carefully. Wendy couldn't help be relax as the conversation fell into a pace she was used to.

"Yeah. And sweet, and kind, and perfect." Talking about Darius seemed to calm Wendy's nerves and she began to relax in the chair. She sort of half listened to Cassy rambling on about how much fun prom would be, and eventually she found Cassy's voice soothing, almost melodic.

"Has anyone ever told you that you have beautiful bone-structure?" Cassy asked suddenly, veering completely off topic and Wendy yet again fell back into her self-conscious state.

"No. No one has." Wendy answered quickly,

"What a pity. Because you do. You're very beautiful. And very lucky to have such a great date to prom." Cassy said back, grinning at Wendy as she started applying blush to cheeks. "If you keep blushing so much I won't have to put anything on your cheeks." Cassy quipped as she put the brush down. "Ooh! Let me get my lip brush from the back. I'm sorry, I've been a bit scattered lately." Wendy stared at Cassy as she left the room, running into the small massage room. Her brain seemed to have to work on over-drive to process all of Cassy's words, which seemed to fly out of her mouth faster than a hummingbird's wings.

Wendy flipped her phone open, typing up a quick message to Emma, telling her that she'd be over after she grabbed a quick lunch. She closed her eyes as she heard the clicking of Cassy's heels in the nearby room. She let her mind wander back to Darius, back to the moment when he first asked her out. He was wearing a red t-shirt with some band on it that she'd never heard of. His jacket was unzipped and the sleeves were pushed up. He was nervously rolling his pencil up and down his desk while is black sneakers tapped sporadically on the tiled floor. He stumbled over his words and Wendy couldn't help but laugh at him. His sudden confident composure was falling apart without warning. Her laughter seemed to make him loosen up and she could see his dimples begin to form as he smiled, tilting his head down slightly. She took that moment, when he couldn't catch her, to study his body in all its perfection.

She was so wrapped up in recreating that moment, with all its minute details that she never heard Cassy's returning footsteps. She jumped as she felt a coarse brush sweep across her lips suddenly. She sat up quickly, causing her to become dizzy. She glanced over at Cassy but couldn't seem to get her eyes to focus. Panic began to overwhelm her entire body and she couldn't control the gasp that escaped from her lips.

Her skin suddenly began to feel as though it was tightening around her bones, shriveling up into nothing. She grabbed at her face desperately, trying to pull it back. Her fingers seized up, like the joints were no longer functioning. She felt a pressure on her arm but wasn't able to turn her head far enough to see what was the cause. She was being pulled from her seat into a standing position, her hands still clawed to her face. Her knees began to ache beyond belief and her knees refused to give out. In fact she was almost certain her knees no longer existed.

She tried to close her eyes and regain her composure. Whatever was happening was obviously happening in her head. She was panicking; suffering from the worst type of panic attack even known to man. Or at least that's what she told herself. She tried to take in a breath but her lungs struggled to expand as her ribs seemed to now be made of plaster. And in the next moment, one single, infinitesimal moment, Wendy wasn't Wendy, but an empty, simplistic shell of a complex person.

Cassy stood back and watched as Wendy's body slowly turned to wax, suspending in time. Cassy looked at the petrified face pressed into the wax figure and her hatred began to over spill. _Even now she looks beautiful. _Cassy had to remind herself of her job and she quickly pushed back her hatred for the moment. Her heart began pounding in her chest, a sort of exhilarating thumping that makes your head feel as light as air. Each time was like reaching that unobtainable high, a rush of fear and pure pleasure all at once. It was a feeling that could knock you off your feet if you weren't prepared.

She slowly pulled Wendy backwards towards the back exit, making sure not to make any noise. She pushed the door open with her back and tugged Wendy's body onto the cement. She pushed it a little farther before leaning the wax figure up against her SUV. She threw open the door and lifted Wendy's thin frame into the car, throwing the afghan that was lying on the floor over her.

She sighed as she slammed the door closed, glad the whole event was over. She rolled her eyes as she looked back at the car, giggling at the stupid naïve girl now lying in her car. Or really what was left of the girl. _She got what she deserved,_ she told herself as she watched back into the salon. She plopped down back in her chair, spinning aimlessly around. She glanced at her watch, trying to judge how much longer should she wait before she walked back into the main waiting area to tell Lola she was ready for her next client whenever. She had to formulate a good answer as to why Wendy would leave out the back door and not the front. She settled on her usual answer, which was that she had parked closer to the back door than the front. It always worked on the dumb blonde who seemed to be worse than Natalie.

The thought of Natalie brought a wave of anger back to Cassy. _Why them and not me? What do they have that I don't? _She felt her chest tighten as she reached her boiling point. Her cheeks began to turn red and her head began spinning from all the fury growing inside her. She jumped up from the seat and stomped out of the store, yelling at Lola to cancel all her appointments. She jumped into her car and hit the gas, driving home in such a whirl of fury that nothing, and no one, mattered any more.

She got about halfway home when she realized she had left Wendy' car at the salon. She pulled over into a side street and unbuckled her seatbelt. She reached into the back seat, digging through Wendy's pockets till she found her keys. She then called up her mother, a senile old woman who still swore that there was a war going on inGermany. She asked her to drive her to the salon because she left her car there, a lie that made complete sense to her mother. She reached again into Wendy's pockets, grabbing her wallet this time. When she found her license with her address on it she clicked her seatbelt back on and made her way to again to her house to wait for her mother.

SOOO…THIS WAS THE FLASHBACK I'VE BEEN MUSING OVER FOR WHAT SEEMS LIKE AN ETERNITY.

GETTING READY FOR COLLEGE HAS BECOME A BIT OVERWHELMING SO THIS CHAPTER HAS ACTUALLY BEEN DONE FOR QUITE SOME TIME AND I JUST HAVEN'T POSTED IT…I'M SORRY!

I KNOW, I KNOW, I'VE BEEN DRAGGING MY FEET LATELY WHEN IT COMES TO CONTINUOUS POSTS, BUT I PROMISE I'M GETTING BETTER J


	10. Chapter Nine

**Holy moly! So I was writing a Criminal Minds story and I randomly checked my reviews for that story, which led me to check toe reviews on my other stories.**

**SOOOO...after spending a ridiculous amount of time reading all your amazing reviews, I have a sudden urge to finish this story. I'm not really sure how long this motivation will last, especially since I'm in the middle of writing a CM story.**

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><p>CHAPTER EIGHT<p>

AT NATALIE'S HOUSE

**Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.**

**-Aristotle**

When they woke up the next morning and greeted each other at the breakfast room down the hall, both acted as if the night before never happened. Though the tension around them was so blatantly obvious, they both ignored it. It wasn't the sort of tension that you get between two people who hate each other; it was more of the tension you get when two people are practically fighting every force in the known universe to stop them from clinging to one another. They were like magnets, fighting desperately to stay separate and it would soon become unbearable. But for now they pretended to be comfortable with their distance and 'just friends' status.

"We should head to Natalie's first, then the salon to talk to the employees and her mother." Myka finally said, breaking the awkward silence between them.  
>"Sure." Pete said, causing some for the scrambled eggs in his mouth to fall out. Myka laughed and handed him a napkin from the holder next to her.<p>

"I'm telling you Pete; sometimes you can truly be a pig." It was a struggle, but step by step, word by word, the made their way through the tension as best as possible. They could still feel the attraction tugging them closer but they both push it to the back of their mind, ready to be dealt with later on.

Myka couldn't help but be lulled into a soft sleep as she stared out the car window, taking in the scenery. The trees in the distance seemed to wave and dance in the window as they drove down the winding, hilly roads of Roscoe. As she gazed out the window, her eyes getting heavier with each passing minute, the trees faded into a spectacular swirl of greens and browns. The colors blended and ran into each other like a pool for water colors.

Before she was even aware of the fact that she had fallen asleep she was being shaken awake by Pete. "We're like five minutes away from Natalie's house. Have a good nap?"

"I wasn't sleeping. I was, uhm, resting my eyes." Myka said as she rubbed her eyes, trying to clear the foggy feeling from her mind.

"Oh sure, like I'm gonna fall for that Myks." He glanced over at her and started laughing suddenly. "Oh my god, your hair!" He was of course referring to the mess of hair on Myka's head that barely resembled the neat and tight pony-tail she had it in that morning. It had begun to curl again, undoing the half an hour worth of straightening Myka had done that morning.

"Damn." Myka muttered as she pulled her fingers through her curls, trying to straighten them back to the way they were with no success. She continued to play with her hair till it was as presentable as she could manage. As she finished tucking the last few strands of hair behind her ear Pete pulled up to Natalie's house.

In front of them was a small white house with the stereotypical white picket fence. A large garden ran across the side of the house, bright yellows and pinks popping up from between large bushes. A large row of windows with blue shutters where placed on both sides of the plain wooden door. It was a quant little house pushed back slightly into the forest. Trees seemed to take over the backyard, along with English ivy, jumping jacks and morning glories, which covered a large percentage of the fence.

"Cute house." Pete said to Myka as they made their way up the stone walkway that led to the steps and front door. Myka knocked on the door and straightened her blouse slightly, still somewhat paranoid that that disheveled sleeping look was still apparent in her clothes.

A minute later they heard a booming voice yell for them to 'hold on.' A few seconds later a tall man, at least 6'6" opened the door and smiled at them with big, pearly-white teeth. "Yes?"

"Hi! I'm Agent Bering, this is Agent Lattimer. We're here to talk to you about Natalie's disappearance." The man's smile fell quickly and his eyebrows furrowed slightly. He stepped away from door and motioned for them to come in. He closed the door quickly after them and pointed towards the couches in the living-room.

Before they even had a chance to sit down Pete began talking. "Listen. I know the local police have said that Natalie ran-away but we disagree. There have been too many disappearances in this town for it to be some sort of huge coincidence. Just hear us out."

The man laughed slightly and shook his head. "I'm guessing I'm not the first person in Roscoe you've interviewed?" He asked, turning to Myka.

"Yeah. The consensus is that your police department just doesn't have the manpower to even label someone kidnapped or missing. Now-" She paused, realizing they had introduced themselves but he had not.

"Sorry. The name's Mark." He extended his hand to Myka and then Pete, getting the formalities out of the way. Soon they were off with their usual questions, the usual and the unusual. Just like Wendy's mother he seemed to only slightly falter at the typically weird Warehouse questions.

As Pete was asking a question about fudge Myka suddenly cut him off. "Where did you say Natalie worked?"

"Uhm. Paradise Salon."

"Where was she when you last saw her?" Myka asked quickly, a thousand thoughts suddenly running through her head.

"She was leaving for work. About 8 o'clock in the morning."

Pete, still confused as to why Myka was asking about something they had talked about two minutes ago sat back and listened to Myka rattle off questions.

"Was there anyone she didn't get along with? Anyone who maybe had some hard feelings, envy, or something like that?"

"Not that I know of. I mean, I know she hated this one girl at the salon but she never told me her name. She said she was very, conceited. And that she often hit on any guy that came in to the salon. Do you think someone at the salon could have taken Natalie?"

"I don't know. But it can't be a coincidence." Myka answered slowly. "Pete? Got any more questions?"

"Nope. You?"

"No. Mark, if you remember anything that you think could be of any use call this number." She wrote her cell number down on a pad in front of her on the coffee table. She handed the pad to Mark as she stood up. Mark opened the door for them and waved them off.

When they got in the car Pete turned to Myka with a puzzled look on his face. "Well that was the fastest interview ever. What happened back there?"

"Someone at the salon is responsible."

"You're making that conclusion because?"

"Think about it. Natalie works at Paradise Salon. She disappeared after leaving for work. Wendy went to Paradise Salon to get her hair and make-up down for prom. She disappeared sometime after getting there. Katarzyna, the model, was shooting here. How much do you want to bet someone from Paradise Salon did her hair, or make-up?"

"Well, I guess we better pay the salon a visit." Pete said making his way back into town. "I have to admit Myka, it's probably a coincidence. I mean, this is the only salon in the town so obviously most, if not all, the girls in the town have gone to the salon."

"Pete. There is no such thing as coincidences when it comes to artifacts."

"I know. I just, I think we're jumping to conclusions too quickly."

"Can't you trust my gut feeling? I trust yours." Myka said looking over at Pete. He could sense she was hurt and he felt his heart begin to break.

"Of course I trust you, Mykes. It's just; I'm not used to you making your mind up like this, so quickly. I'm normally the spontaneous one, not you."

"Yeah, well you've been rubbing off on me." She looked out the corner of her eye and saw him smiling like a kid who had just been told he could buy whatever he wanted in a toy store. "I never said that was a good thing." She said with a smirk and watched as he faked being hit in the chest.

"Ooh! Right through the heart Mykes. How could you!?" He said in an overly dramatic pained voice.

"Funny. Now focus on driving. We've got an hour ride till we get to the salon and I'd rather not have to listen to you yap on the whole time."

"Well you could just take another nap."

"Haha."

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><p><strong>HOPE YOU LIKED! I'M TRYING TO START THE NEXT CHAPTER BUT I'VE GOT TO RE-READ EVERYTHING A GET BACK INTO THE PLOT AND STUFF.<strong>

**I'M ALSO BACK IN SCHOOL SO REALLY, I'M PRETTY SURE THIS MOTIVATION WILL ONLY LAST A FEW WEEKS...SORRY!**


	11. Important Author's Note

Hey everyone! So I've finished my CM story and although I am working on another one, I am also picking up this story as well!

I know it's been so damn long and I really apologize but I really did lose my motivation in terms of this story. Hopefully this won't happen again...

I just want to thank you all for sticking with me! I really do appreciate it and hope that you stick with me till the end.

And as a totally random side-note, I am looking for a beta-reader for this story. If you're interested, please shoot me a personal message so I can start sending you my chapters.

THANKS AND SEE YOU ALL SOON!


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